The Lifesize Valentine
by non3ko
Summary: Summary: Reno gets a surprise delivery for Valentine's day - his birthday. It starts out as a prank until the doll comes to life and ruins his. Vincent/Reno.


Theme: Prompt the Dragon. #277. Catastrophe in the making.

Disclaimer: I own none of the awesome universe that is final fantasy.

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TLV 00

Prologue.

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Vincent came to a halt a few hundred feet in front of the towering solitary building located in the middle of nowhere—literally. Nothing but dirt and scattered patches of greenery surrounded the immediate area. Though it was only temporary, he found he liked the fact that it was free of the constant noise of the inner city. He couldn't say that he was surprised—not much did anymore, when immediately upon arriving at the front door, two heavy metal sliding doors opened to let him in. His company was expected after all. Inside, he walked to the end of the hallway that was void of any type of furnishing, to be greeted by a floating gadget. Most likely one of the scientist's many A.I. creations. It, _something _the 2nd —the name eluded him, guided him to a sealed glass door where he was politely told to wait. After a few moments the doors opened and he was immediately drawn to the sound of someone humming. He followed the sound to find the man who'd requested him over working on some odd creation, too distracted to notice his presence.

"Reeve. You called, you must have wanted something." He crossed his arms looking pointedly at the brunette hunched over one of his many hobbies, curious to know the reason he was summoned out of the blue without an explanation.

So engrossed was he in his newest invention, Reeve was startled and abruptly straightened, almost hitting his head on the light hanging overhead.

"Vincent! Great to see you." Abashed, his face lit up as if suddenly struck by an ingenious idea. Quickly he moved toward Vincent and removed the rigid ex-Turk coat with some difficulty, hanging it on a rack along the wall.

"Now if you'll just step right over here." Reeve motioned with his hand towards a wall bare of anything but a large sheet of paper, letters printed on it in bold black ink. "Alright, please read the words on the wall aloud, starting with the first line." Reeve walked over to his computer and started the program that would record the speech, nodding to begin.

Vincent was confused, single eyebrow raised, but obeyed Reeve's orders nonetheless. On the last string of words, he felt a slight pinch in his shoulder. It didn't hurt him as much as it should, he had Hojo to thank personally for that. He turned to see Reeve pulling out a large syringe filled with what he guessed to be his blood. Reeve smiled behind his glasses and pulled the filled syringe behind his back.

"What was that for?" Vincent asked, eyes cutting straight to the side that the syringe had disappeared to, then accusingly to the smug face of the offender.

"Oh this?" His laugh was airy and nervous. "I collect a sample from everyone who enters my laboratory. For record keeping purposes of course." He answered with a sly smile, pausing on the last bit. Behind his nonthreatening demeanor, he's almost believable. Unless that is of course, you didn't know the man personally. Reeve turned around and placed the vial into a holding device for future use.

Vincent narrowed his eyes at the obvious lie, Reeve had begun to fidget—he always did when fibbing. But he decided against prying into the matter further. If he wanted to find out, he would. During his tenure in Turks he was very resourceful, one of the best in his prime. He glanced over at his coat, then back at Reeve weary of whatever game the scientist was playing.

"Tuesti, why did you really call me here?"

Reeve broke away from the intense red gaze that was boring into him. A brief look at the clock made him panic. "That will be all today Vincent. You've been very helpful today but I'm...running late. Would you mind showing yourself to the door?"

Not wasting another second, Vincent grabbed his coat and headed for the door. He didn't bother with a goodbye, annoyed and having experienced enough weirdness for one day. As the glass doors opened to let him out, a black shadow leapt at him and onto his shoulders. Cait Sith, just what he needed. The babbling cat yowled when he tossed it behind him onto the floor. He allowed himself a small smile as it yelled obscenities at his person, going on about how rude he was. A headache was beginning to form and he had to meet with Cloud soon on business. His day couldn't get any worse.

Reeve watched him leave, and chuckled to himself looking over at the fresh sample within the vial. Really, only a small amount was needed, though he had more than enough in the case of any failures. Looking back at the clock which now read one minute til four, he scurried to the phone dialing a number by rote. He looked over the brochure held in his free hand, sighing in relief at the answer on the other end.

"Yes, I'd like to order the lunch special."

"Why sir, you've called just in time."


End file.
